Nasi Goreng-Style Cauliflower Fried Rice

Nasi Goreng-Style Cauliflower Fried “Rice”

Adapted from Cradle of Flavor: Home Cooking from the Spice Islands of Indonesia, Singapore, and Malaysia

A word of warning: Though many have described shrimp paste as pungent, I'd go so far as to describe its smell as plain stinky. Its malodorous quality only intensifies when toasted.

In fact, while browning, the shrimp paste will emit an alarmingly smoky, burning smell, which is an indication that it is toasting up nicely.

Your kitchen will stink as an old sneaker, or a gym bag (or whatever other foot-related image comes to mind). It’ll all be worth it in the end though, as the toasted shrimp paste provides a unique savory depth to this dish.

Ingredients

Serves 4

1 large cauliflower head, cut into florets

4 shallots

4 garlic cloves

2 to 3 red chiles, seeded

2 teaspoons raw coconut palm sugar (I used Madhava)

2 tablespoons kecap manis (sweet soy sauce)*

4 tablespoons olive oil

2 teaspoons dried shrimp paste (belacan)

4 pastured eggs

* if you can’t find it, use 2 tablespoons of coconut aminos (or wheat free soy sauce) mixed with one teaspoon of honey.

Directions

Heat a wok (or a large skillet) over low heat, add shrimp paste and toast until it becomes dry and aromatic (as mentioned above, your kitchen will smell badly, don’t worry though!)

Toasted shrimp paste should be powdery and look like tiny granules.

Transfer to a plate and set aside.

Combine shallots, garlic cloves, red chiles and toasted shrimp paste in a food processor (or a blender) and blend until a smooth paste forms. Set aside.

Wash the food processor and rice the cauliflower in batches (it should be evenly chopped but not completely pulverized).

Lightly grease the wok and over medium-high heat. Fry the eggs in batches, until well done. Set aside.

Heat 3 tablespoons of olive oil in the wok over high heat. Add paste and stir-fry until aromatic (or when the oil separates).

Add cauliflower rice and stir-fry for about 5 minutes. The cauliflower rice should be soft but still retain a bit of crunch.

Add kecap manis and coconut sugar into the cauliflower rice and stir-fry until fragrant.

Transfer to serving plates, top with fried egg and serve immediately.